Safety Zone; Lower Niagara River at Niagara Falls, New York

The Coast Guard proposes to establish regulations for a permanent safety zone within the Captain of the Port Zone Buffalo on the Lower Niagara River, Niagara Falls, NY. This proposed rule is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of the Lower Niagara River considered not navigable as listed in the United States Coast Pilot Book 6--Great Lakes: Lake Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior and St. Lawrence River and more specifically as described below. The safety zone to be established by this proposed rule is necessary to protect the public and vessels from the hazards associated with the heavy rapids in the narrow waterway of the Lower Niagara River.